Milagros and Manuel Cuenco, circa 1935
The Sensational Elopement of Milagros and Manuel Cuenco
I learned about the elopement of my uncle and aunt later on life. Before then, I always took them as just another normal couple with six children, part of the landscape of my youth in Cebu. My mother had only one brother, Manuel.
At this point in time, I can probably mention their names. They have both passed on, and their lives have slipped into the realm of story.
The writer, Concepcion G. Briones wrote about the elopement of Manuel
Cuenco and Milagros Veloso (circa 1930s) as follows: (source:
Life in Old Parian)
Another sensational elopement landed its protagonists on the front-pages of Cebu's newspapers and weeklies. The youngest daughter of one of Cebu's oldest millionaire families and the handsome scion of Cebu's most powerful political families,eloped one day.
The couple had been, in the language of the day, "going steady" for quite a while. But they probably had a falling out when the
novio went abroad to pursue further studies. A year or so afterwards, avid society watchers woke up to read an announcement that Cebu City was to see another big and brilliant wedding uniting the lovely herioine and another scion of one of its wealthiest families.